Mitt Romney: The vague campaign

last updated 8 January 2015

Mitt Romney is “slowly squandering a historic opportunity,” said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial. The country’s economic recovery is on the skids, and by all rights, the Republican challenger should be opening a sizable lead over President Obama in the polls. But Obama still leads in key battleground states—because Romney is running such a muddled campaign. He’s attempting to “coast to the White House” simply by saying “the economy stinks and it’s Obama’s fault.” How would Romney govern differently? Why is it important to shrink the government, cut taxes, and reduce the deficit? Romney isn’t saying, said William Kristol in WeeklyStandard.com. Voters know the economy is bad, and you don’t beat an incumbent president with a wholly negative—and maddeningly vague—campaign. “Is it too much to ask Mitt Romney to get off autopilot?”

If Romney wants a chance of winning, said Jonathan Chait in NYMag.com, he should ignore this “conservative caterwauling.” When conservatives say they want more specifics from Romney, “what they really want is a different candidate and a different electorate.” They assume Americans will prefer a candidate who promises to further cut taxes for the rich, while hacking away at Medicare and other government benefits, and making people pay more for their health care. “But that’s not what the public wants and Romney knows it.” Making this election a referendum on Obama gives him his best chance of victory. It’s generally smart politics to keep it vague on the campaign trail, said Adam Sorensen in Time.com. Running on “hyper-specific policy platforms” not only gives opponents a target, it boxes candidates into a corner if they’re elected.

Romney’s campaign strategy is a function of his personality, said Joshua Green in The Boston Globe. Famously risk-averse in both his business and political careers, Romney is hoping that “the country is in such dire shape that simply being against Obama is enough.” But by running as “a generic Republican,” he’s giving his opponents an opening to define him. That’s exactly what Obama’s campaign is now doing, with a fusillade of attacks that portray Romney as an out-of-touch rich guy who sent U.S. jobs abroad and could care less about the middle class. Polls suggest those attacks are working. Yes, there’s a risk for Romney in taking a clearer stand on key issues. “But there’s also a risk of appearing to stand for nothing at all.”